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NJPW, 3/23/03 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) (Buy)
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium 5,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy
1. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto beat Yutaka Yoshie & Toru Yano (10:14) when Goto used a backdrop suplex on Yano.
Because of a one month break for New Japan's Complete/Perfect Edition show on BS Asahi, the big 3/23 tour climax to "HYPER BATTLE 2003" was not aired in full. However, there are always alternatives when it comes to New Japan's hectic TV schedule. I picked up this tape from Trent Walters' japantapes.com that combined the two 60 minute national versions covering 3/23, plus one match from the NJ+IWTV Internet movement. While it still wasn't "Perfect Edition", it was about as close as you can get unless they release this event on DVD. I stopped watching the 60 minute national show in March last year, preferring to just get the BS Asahi/Samurai! TV unclipped edition. The national show has turned into a sort of infomercial to hype events, and rarely shows a match from start to finish, so it's good that diehard fans have the choice to watch the excellent WPW Complete Edition and SXW broadcasts on cable. This wrapped up a very eventful tour, and took place in the same building that Chono & Tenzan downed Nagata & Nakanishi in a year before to capture the vacant IWGP Tag Team Title. Attendance was up this time, and another hot crowd was on hand. In between all the matches, they did an absolutely incredible job of hyping the 5/2 Tokyo Dome show over these two broadcasts. They managed to link almost every match shown from 3/23 to a match at the Tokyo Dome, and on separate occasions ran down the entire 5/2 card, making it seem like the most important show ever. It's no surprise then that 5/2 was such a big success for New Japan. The first match shown was #8, the all-Shinnichi six man tag. I always look forward to these matches, since they aren't that common now that there are New Japan vs. outsider matches dominating shows. Only 3 minutes aired, but it was fabulous. Everyone was racing around trying to win, hitting signature moves and the like. Chono was on fire. Nakanishi won with an Argentine backbreaker, then called for his Tokyo Dome match with Kazuyuki Fujita to a big pop. Chono also challenged Kobashi again, which he also did earlier in the series. Takayama vs. Norton was aired next, probably half shown. Really good start, but they couldn't keep that pace up. They hit each other really hard for much of what was shown, so when Norton applied things like a Scorpion Deathlock (which fell apart), it was an odd change in tempo. Although a forgettable title match, the fans enjoyed it and it worked well as a main event because everyone loved Takayama. Enson & Ohara vs. Yasuda & Murakami lasted 61 seconds, but did a great job of building up Enson vs. Murakami for the Dome, as they brawled wildly. Also, Hoshino teased a plancha again (remember, back on 2/16 he went for one and almost broke his neck), but wisely decided against it. Iizuka vs. Nagai kicked off the second week broadcast, and had a good amount shown. Iizuka entered first, which indicated something was going to happen, because the outsider always enters first unless he's a champion. Makai #4 walked out holding Makai #5's mask. After some discussions, Hidekazu Tanaka exclaimed, "NAGAI MITSUYA!", and Nagai entered in his long black pants, using his All Japan music. This match with dripping with hate and bloodlust, I loved it. Whenever Nagai gets Iizuka down in the corner, the crowd screams in support of Iizuka, fearing a repeat of 6/6/01 (which they showed clips of in slow motion before the match). Nagai was psychotic here, looking to end Iizuka's career. Iizuka is SHINNICHI though, and fought back like a true warrior, hitting three Blizzard suplexes. Earlier in the match, Iizuka had started taking apart Nagai's ankle. It troubled Nagai even when he was on offense, for instance when he threw a kick with that foot and subsequently collapsed. Although he escaped one, Nagai found himself trapped in a standing heel hold and finding nowhere to go. FINALLY, Takashi Iizuka avenged Mitsuya Nagai for almost ending his career in a truly decisive way, the Makai Club demon tapping out in the center of the ring! Yet even with this victory, I got the impression the feud wasn't over, and it wasn't, as it would resume on the next series with a tag series between the two. I hope Iizuka can climb back up the card to his 2000 role before the end of the year, he is a key player in New Japan. Fujita vs. Makai #4 was really good, as good as they could do in a 5 1/2 minute match. It was established early on that Makai #4 was much stronger than Fujita, so Fujita found himself on defense, trying to claw his way into the match. The crowd really got into Fujita's fighting spirit, and were behind him. #4's kicks were nasty, but Fujita took them like a man. He made his comeback, with elbows, swan dive dropkicks, and the like, but was soon struggling again. But out of nowhere he caught #4 with an inside cradle for the big win, forcing a U-30 semi finalist decision match between #4 and Blue Wolf, rather than direct qualification for the masked Makai. A little bit of Kengo & Samurai vs. Nishimura & Kakihara was shown. This was the last tag match of Kengo's career, and given that he was one of the men that defined and shaped tag wrestling in the last four or so years of the Showa era for New Japan, as Fujinami's partner in their legendary team, this was important. Not a lot shown, they aired a bit of Nishimura and Kengo's ~MUGA LOVE MATWORK~, which everyone liked. The finish was really awesome. Kakihara and Kengo were in opposite corners, with Kaki the aggressor. So he charged with an Inazuma leg lariat in mind, only the MASTER OF INAZUMA, Kengo, dashed out and hit his own first! He covered for the win, and then got a standing ovation from the crowd. One more match for Kengo after this, and that would be on the April tour kick-off at Korakuen! Last match of the 3/23 footage was the 10 minute version of Kanemoto vs. AKIRA, which I already saw. However, Trent included the UNEDITED version of this match from the internet at the end of the tape (after a Toryumon "Uno Dos Tres" broadcast), which gave me the chance to finally see the complete package. This was a beautiful tapestry of wrestling, fueled by great wrestling, logic, and so much passion from the two. The footage that didn't air on TV Asahi was the two breaking each other's stamina and limbs down in time for the closing stretch. It complimented those last 10 minutes perfectly, and the action was so rich and fluid. The fight was based around knee attacks, but not in the usual way. They fought wonderful sequences revolving around their knee injuries. For example, AKIRA got his knees up when Kanemoto hit a moonsault press, which hurt both guys' knees. AKIRA went up, and hit a Musasabi press for an immensely heated near fall. AKIRA turned Kanemoto over, and hit a Musasabi press to his knees, then slapped on his own ankle hold. Shortly after, Kanemoto got his back on. AKIRA showed such will to survive. He grabbed referee Unno's shirt in desperation and tore it off. He tore off Kanemoto's kneepad in desperation, and BIT his knee, drawing blood from it. American Dragon was kneeling at ringside, reminding me of when Benoit used to in his young lion days, and looked in awe. Then, the finish. The "leglock", which sounded generic on paper, was this beautiful tie-up submission. The fans behind them STOOD UP IN UNISON just to see this amazing hold. And AKIRA tapped. What a match this was, the best junior match I've seen for several years, even better than the exceptional Tanaka vs. Murahama match from Korakuen Hall in April of 2001! Such a beautiful fight, and the crowd was on fire. Even as the best junior match for a while, it's still not my #1 for New Japan this year or even tour, showing what a great year for peak matches the King of Sports is having! Nagata vs. Nakanishi (30 minute edition, I'm going to pick up the unedited version when I can) remains on top! While some stuff was cut up and the main event was nothing to write home about (for me at least), 3/23 looked like a really good, hot finish to what was an OUTSTANDING TOUR. A tour that gave us high quality matches such as Kanemoto, Liger & Fujita vs. AKIRA, Heat & Tiger Mask (3/7), Nagata & Wolf vs. Nakanishi & Tanahashi (3/7), Kanemoto & Liger vs. AKIRA & Heat (3/9), Chono & Tenzan vs. Takayama & Makabe (3/9), Nagata vs. Nakanishi (3/9), Liger & Murahama vs. Gamma & Billy Ken Kid (3/21), Kanemoto & Liger vs. AKIRA & Stampede Kid (3/22), and of course, Kanemoto vs. AKIRA (3/23). All of the top feuds were progressed so well from start to finish (or whenever the big match happened), and the title matches of the tour (sans Takayama vs. Norton) were all tremendous viewing. 3/23 is one to prioritize if only to see THE MATCH, which may well end up as the best junior bout of 2003. "EXCITING BATTLE IN NAEBA 2003" was next, New Japan's first full taping from the ski resort.
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[2] beat Makai #4 [4] (5:32) with an inside cradle.